Q&A Session: Patron Saints, Macarons & Julia Child!

Fr. Ben sits down with Silvia Vega and Khira Rotty to discuss patron saints, eat some macaroons, and talk about his love for Julia Child and St. Edith Stein. Enjoy!

Fr. Ben's recipe for French Macarons (yield: 110)

*8.25 cups of ground almond flour
*19 egg whites (room temperature)
*6 cups plus 3 TBSP of powdered sugar
*3 cups of granulated sugar

1.) Puree the almond flour and the powdered sugar in a food processor until the mixture is very fine, then sift at least once.

2.) Whip the egg white in a mixer on medium-high speed, gradually adding the granulated sugar… repeat: GRADUALLY! Beat on high until firm peaks form. 

3.) Now begins what is sometimes called “macaronage,” or the process whereby the whites and the almond flour are folded together.  Add 1/3 of the almond flour mixture into the whites, folding it in slowly.  Once all of the almond flour is added, the mixture should look somewhat like lava and form a figure-8 without the ribbon breaking as it falls off the rubber spatula. 

4.) Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

5.) Pipe onto a sheet pan with parchment paper or silpat (I prefer parchment), spacing about an inch apart. 

6.) Pick up the sheet pan and drop it in the counter about 3 times to force out any excess air bubbles in the macaroons.  

7.) Let the piped macaroons sit at room temperature, to form a skin, for no less than 30 minutes before baking.  You should be able to touch one without batter sticking to your finger. Bake for 15 minutes.

8.) I suggest making the macaroons and the filling the day before use.  They are better when they stale a bit.  Leave uncovered overnight. 

There are thousands of variations, though I prefer the following: rose petal (made with rosewater), pistachio, Nutella ganache, salted raspberry, lavender-lemon, or dulce de leche.